Blamecasting

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on November 13, 2019 in distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Spiritual, Striving

November 10, 2019-

In examining Jordan Peterson’s remarks on what he sees as the Eighth Rule for Life, essentially “avoid vengeance”, it occurs to me that the basic issue stems from being other-focused, with regard to the quality of one’s life.

This is a recipe for disempowerment, in the sense that giving people, even those we love most, responsibility for what is good and bad in our lives. Christ used the construct He called “Satan”, or “the devil”, to illuminate the lower nature which leads people to act in ways that are of a disservice to self and others. People have taken that construct and used it as a scapegoat, as an actual being outside themselves, on whom to blame when they make bad choices. God, Himself, also gets blamed, when there is misfortune in the lives of many people.

The choice, that those who give others control over their affairs often make, following a misfortune that is laid at the feet of another, is taking revenge. This, of course, prolongs and most often deepens the agony. I can think of no problem that I ever faced, which was solved by blamecasting or looking outside myself for resolution. Indeed, when Jesus was tempted by His own human lower nature at Gethsemane, He gave us a road map for overcoming such weakness, with the words, “Get thou behind me, Satan!”

It is, simply put, up to each person to put the lower nature behind them-not often an easy task, but one which must be done.

She Ever Walks Tall

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on November 8, 2019 in Community, Matters of Faith, Spiritual, Striving

November 8, 2019-

Coming into the world,

with the Twenty-First Century,

the glowing infant was a source of joy

that her mother had not been expecting.

A family was virtually raised,

almost single-handedly,

by the most indomitable

of women.

Now, came another,

again, with no one,

except her mother,

on whom to depend.

The job was done,

and done well.

The child grew,

knowing nothing but love,

and support,

from her mother,

and a loosely-connected

network.

of aunts, one or two uncles

and man friends,

who happened along,

now and then.

The girl had purpose, though,

and kept her eyes on those goals.

Her keen mind and loving heart,

found their way to the base

of a solid network,

and strong mentors.

That heart also captivated

a well-grounded young man.

Today, they will wed.

I am honoured to be

among those who will

witness this wondrous

beginning.

She walks tall today,

as always.

The Spiral

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on November 2, 2019 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Matters of Faith, Spiritual, Striving

November 2, 2019-

The day wound around, on a gradual upswing. There being no Farmers’ Market today, I found my way to a special event: Highland Nature Center’s Holiday Bazaar. There, I found a booth where two young boys were selling some interesting, and well-made craft items, whilst being cheerfully coached by their father. I bought a lavender cold pack, which is good for 30-40 uses. Another booth had knit caps, for women and girls, so I bought one for a friend’s 3-year -old daughter. Finally, some graphic artists had a booth, where I found a lovely “Welcome to Our Home” placard, as an advance gift for a couple who’ll be married next weekend.

With that, it was off to the preparation for our public observance of al-Bab’s Bicentenary. A goodly crew of us set up an exquisite setting, at Prescott’s Senior Center, and all told, we had 65 people who attended all, or part, of the festivities. It was a quality program, and I was glad to help several people feel at home, from a skittish woman who could barely relax, to a visitor, who was a friend of the hymn singer, and was happy to visit with the singer and his wife, if only for a short time. The spiral continued upward.

We were done with clean-up by 5 p.m., but where is my cell phone? I retraced my steps, found no phone, let the janitor of the hall know to look out for it, and left to take care of a couple, more urgent errands. The errands done, a friend tipped me off that the event hall was still open, for an evening event. So, back to the Center I went, and with the night janitor leading the way, I went to the back stage area, where I’d eaten a snack, out of sight of my satiated friends, towards the end of the set-up.

It was the night janitor who spotted my phone, neatly camouflaged, as it was monochromatic with the stereo speaker on which I’d set it, during said snack. The day thus ended with yet another upward spiral.

The Greatest Gift

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on October 30, 2019 in collaborating, Community, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Spiritual

October 30, 2019-

As I mentioned yesterday, these two days mark the consecutive birth anniversaries of Baha’u’llah and His Forerunner/Herald, al-Bab. I have recounted the story of Baha’u’llah in previous posts, over the years.

In this post, I wish to note why His life and those of other Divine Messengers, are important to people of all faiths, or of no faith. Rather than see these Great Beings as merely Founders of competing religions, it is beneficial to view Them as guides to the continuous process of the unfolding of human spirituality-as it pertains to both the life of the individual and the life of society.

We have progressed, in fits and starts, from the relationship of the individual to the Divine (the Revelations of Adam, Abraham and Noah); through the spirituality of the human family and clans (Krishna and Zoroaster); the spiritual focus of tribes (Moses and countless Teachers of Indigenous Peoples, across the world); detachment from fortune and misfortune, alike (Gautama Siddhartha); unconditional love, across boundaries (Jesus the Christ) and spiritual guidance of nations (Muhammad). The Twin Messengers, al-Bab and Baha’u’llah, have extended the knowledge available to us, that the common people of the Earth may both determine their own spiritual destiny and organize the spiritual unification of the entire planet.

Baha’u’llah’s Revelation, far from being yet another means to sectarian division, is a road map away from human-caused cataclysm and strife. This is the underpinning of my belief that all people possess the means to seek and find Truth, both independently and in groups.

Two Centuries Ago

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on October 29, 2019 in Historical, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Spiritual, Striving

October 29, 2019-

Two hundred years ago,

Europe was pulling itself out of the wreckage of the Napoleonic Wars.

The young United States of America was also healing from the wounds of its second major war.

Asia was finding that Europeans, and some Americans, were interested in far more than trading goods. British outposts in Australia and India were established, towards the goal of domination of Asia. Spain had done likewise, in the Philippines. France, Portugal and the Netherlands were not far behind.

Africa was seeing its enslavement declining, but a bigger problem-European ownership of land, would soon become the order of the age. The Dutch had already established a settlement near the Cape of Good Hope.

In Persia (now Iran), a land that was seeing its own slow decline, two children were born, one in 1817, the other in 1819- with their birthdays coming a day apart. These boys would grow into men who would realize high spiritual stations. These Messengers would stand out from Their peers, require little or no formal education and stand up, however respectfully, to the increasingly corrupt and wayward clergy and royalty of the Persian Empire.

The first of the two to declare His Mission was Mirza Ali Muhammad, known to posterity as al-Bab ( “Bab” being Arabic for “gate”. He is commonly called The Bab, in English-speaking countries.) He was born in 1819, thus being honoured in the Bicentenary of His Birth, during this week.

Al-Bab was the Herald, or Forerunner, of Baha’u’llah, and declared His Mission in May, 1844, in the southern Persian city of Shiraz. He appealed to thousands who were disillusioned by the state of Persian society. Corruption and decadent behaviour were rife, across the country. It was to this scene that Al-Bab spread His message that the human race should prepare itself for a Messenger, Who would bring Teachings that would unite humanity-not by force or by deception, but by independent investigation of truth and gradual bringing together of the hearts and minds of men. This, of course, alarmed the powers that were, who, fearing the loss of their status, imprisoned al-Bab in three separate locations. None of the three served to squelch His appeal to the masses. Thus, in July, 1850, al-Bab was executed by firing squad, in the main square of Tabriz, in northwest Persia. This, likewise, failed to destroy the Faith He had established.

Baha’u’llah, likewise, would endure His own series of persecutions, to which I will refer tomorrow, on the 202nd anniversary of His birth.

Growing My Vision, Part II

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on October 24, 2019 in Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Spiritual, Striving

October 24, 2019-

I’ve had a fair amount of time to reflect on how life has been, and where it’s going. An online purveyor of life coaching is claiming I will “stagnate”, if I don’t pay for his coaching method, as opposed to The Law of Attraction and its 11 corollary laws, which he says “fail”.

Well, so far, since I studied and implemented these twelve laws, my life has, for the most part, worked out in a satisfying way. He sees me as stagnating, because my nest egg is modest, I don’t have one special significant other, and my travel plans don’t involve expensive resorts. Sound familiar?

I live in a small apartment-true, but it’s comfortable. I live in a town where I am, for the most part, loved and respected. I would only move, if it seemed like my family needed me to be closer. So far, I have seen no indication of that. I do plan on a more fluid schedule, even more of being on the move, after next year-but that’s also contingent on whether I am needed by anyone. Family will always trump journeys of discovery.

There is also the slim possibility of serving at the Baha’i World Centre, in Israel, for 12-18 months, in a couple of years. It would be strictly dependent on that institution’s needs.

My vision, regardless, will continue to grow. There are always new things to learn about the nature of the soul, about quantum physics and the vastness of the Universe, both macro and micro. There are always new friends to make and new things to learn about those in my life at present.

The old dog is up for learning new tricks. Just don’t ask me to jump out of a plane, unless the thing is going down.

The Round and Square of It

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on October 20, 2019 in Community, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Matters of Faith, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 9, 2019, Aneth, UT-

Any illusion that Native Americans are somehow all cut from the same cloth, or are otherwise a uniform group, was hopefully dispelled, some tome ago. This is as true, with regard to various aspects of culture, including architecture, as it is to language and physical appearance- just as it is with people of any large subgrouping.

Hovenweep, a Paiute name meaning “Deserted Valley”, is the site of a large number of mud brick structures, both atop and just below the rim of, Cahone Mesa, in southeast Utah-about 15 miles northwest of this small Dineh settlement.

I last visited this area in 1979, about a month after summer break began. There has been an expansion of the National Monument since that time. For this visit, though, I focused on the Main, or Square Tower, Group of structures. Outlying ruins will be the focus of a future visit.

The trail around the Main Group is 2 miles long. The terrain is similar to that of Natural Bridges and other nearby canyons. A short walk across the table of Cahone Mesa leads to a short, but rugged, canyon crossing, then around to Twin Towers and the Square Tower triad, before snaking back towards the Visitor Center.

As you will see, the Puebloan architects variously used square corners and round construction, depending on the function of the building. Squared structures appear to be more for dwellings and the rounded buildings either as kivas or as observation towers of some sort.

The descent and ascent of Little Ruin Canyon is the most rugged part of the hike around Square Tower Group. I would rate it as moderate, in difficulty.

A small heart-shaped rock is visible, towards the rear of this small cavelet.

Remains of several small homes, on the mesa top, precede one’s arrival at Twin Towers.

As I approached Twin Towers, a girl of about twelve passed by me, cheerfully in her own experience of the area. Her grandparents called her back, not so much out of fear, as to ask her to carefully pull a discarded plastic water bottle out of this crevice! She gingerly did as asked, and had no trouble getting out of the fissure.

Here are the remnants of Twin Towers.

Just a few paces from the round towers is another rectangular tower, likely an early apartment dwelling.

There were several people at Square Tower, as I approached, so care was taken to honour each one’s quiet investigation of this central area of Hovenweep.

Checkdam is a building where the caretaker of an earthen dam spent his duty hours.

These are the structures of Hovenweep House.

Square Tower is in the midst of the main kivas.

Below, is a small single family dwelling.

This is Eroded Boulder House, an example of the effects of the climate change of that era (1200-1300 A.D.)

There are four areas of Hovenweep National Monument that are accessible by high-clearance vehicles. One of these days, I will get to those outliers.

Today, though, I had two other visits to make. I headed out of Hovenweep and made it to this oil and gas-producing community, in Utah’s southeast corner. Here, I visited for about 1 1/2 hours, with two Dineh sisters, who are caretakers of this small Baha’i Center. Members of our Faith have lived in Aneth for about fifty years.

After visiting with the ladies, I am headed to The Farm Bistro, in Cortez, for an early dinner, then will likely drive back to Prescott. It’s been a fascinating Fall Break!

She Never Stopped Singing

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on September 30, 2019 in Family, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Spiritual, Striving

September 30, 2019-

Had Penny stayed on this Earthly plane, she would have turned 65, today. There was not a day that went by, until her voice gave out, that she didn’t sing of one thing or another. Her voice was easily among the most pleasant sounds I could ever have heard. It was very often infused with praise for the Divine, making its tones that much more salubrious.

She never stopped seeking a means to improve health-her own and that of everyone she loved. It is largely her legacy that has led me to use essential oils and hemp-based CBD, which were either little known or not marketed during her long years of suffering. I can at least help maintain my own wellness and those in my widening circle who are ill. That would comfort her.

She was always her own person. Years ago, I was screamed at, for having used the term, “my Penny”, in a random post. The angry correspondent, who was not known to me beforehand, was crusading against “people thinking they own one another.” Despite that over-the-top assessment, I never regarded Penny as being somehow under my thumb. She stood her ground, right up until her last breath, and never hesitated to speak truth to power- doctors, hospital administrators, insurance executives, school principals, Senator Barry Goldwater, even her parents. The woman was fierce.

Her ferocity was based on love. No one who caught her wrath really believed her to be a noxious presence. With a few narcissistic exceptions, friend and foe alike appreciated just how much Penny Kay Fellman Boivin was devoted to the well-being of humanity. That love served to heal one of the most psychologically ill people she ever knew: myself. So, here I am, still able to carry on her work, along with my own.

The spirit, the genderless essence, watches over me still, and lends strength to doing all that remains to be accomplished.

Another Song Celestial

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on September 29, 2019 in collaborating, Community, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

September 29, 2019-

The humble, soft-spoken man recounted the life of his father, who is, to date, the only conscientious objector to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Desmond Doss, Sr. was portrayed by the actor Andrew Garfield, in the film “Hacksaw Ridge”. His son briefly detailed the actual man and the fullness of his life, at yesterday’s Hope Fest.

Desmond Doss, Jr. is at lower left, below.

This day-long celebration of purpose-driven life is primarily about service to the community, with a clear message that peoples’ lives are best led through a personal relationship with Jesus the Christ. I have helped the organizers of this effort, for the past five years. One of the elements of this event is recognizing and honouring the veterans of present and past conflicts. VietNam is not the least of these conflicts.

Though I take a longer view, seeing a relationship with the Creator and His Messengers as essential to a well-lived life, by way of accepting that Revelation is progressive and God’s message unending, I see that encouraging others in the positive, personal growth-oriented aspects of their own Faith is the finer path.

I came by my understanding of Baha’u’llah’s Teachings honestly, and will never hide my Faith from anyone. It was actually the very essence of what Jesus the Christ taught, that love is paramount, which drew me to the Baha’i Faith, as “Love is the secret of God’s holy Dispensation, the manifestation of the All-Merciful, the fountain of spiritual outpourings.”- ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha

It never made sense to me, even as a child, that God would visit Mankind with His Grace but once. Knowledge given is as the rays of the Sun. The solar rays of a thousand years ago, of ten thousand years ago, warmed the Earth and were beneficial. They remain praiseworthy, for all they brought forth. Likewise, the rays of the present day sustain life. They, too, deserve our appreciation. Understanding all that is given us, by the Creator, is a worthy effort.

So I offer service to those who themselves serve others, in the highest way they can conceive. It is our shared love for humanity that propels gatherings like Hope Fest. Long may they continue, and bear fruit.

Mandala

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on September 22, 2019 in collaborating, Community, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Spiritual, Striving

September 22, 2019-

The mandala was prescient.

This is the last day of summer/winter (I reference the juxtaposed seasons, in acknowledging the essential unity of north and south. Both extreme seasons present challenges.) Fall/spring, starting tomorrow, will offer celebrations of fruition or of new beginnings.

I drew a mandala, yesterday, in the course of attending a small peace gathering, in the early evening. Being no great artist, but having a curiosity, I let the Universe guide my thoughts, starting with a bright, fiery orange circle and moving outwards.

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Clashing, opposing colours are placed alongside, or in succession to, one another. A green human and animals of colours with which they are not normally associated, occupy the outer layer. That you may not be able to distinguish which is which, is a testimony to my own rudimentary art skills and to the thick, stubby crayons provided. No matter-the message is one of coexisting with differences and among opposites.

That was a key point of the entire day. I spent a good part of Saturday walking a hilly neighbourhood, visiting people ranging from a transplanted Southern man proudly displaying a Confederate flag to a young woman professional and her dogs, all for the sake of verifying that the homes either had working smoke alarms or that my team mate and I installed them, before leaving the area. It was all part of a concerted effort by the Red Cross to keep yet another neighbourhood safe. Most people in the area covered have indeed tended to their own safety. Heightened awareness, and insurance company diligence, have greatly lessened our workload.

After resting a bit, the evening Peace events beckoned. I walked a labyrinth, at a church up the street, savouring the serenity that such calm attention to detail brings. Then came mandala activity, followed by three of us Baha’is saying prayers, in front of a very small audience-quality not quantity! Before we prayed, a very nice lady, who had practiced three songs of peace, but had not had an audience for her scheduled performance, was invited to offer the songs. Delivered a capella, these original songs, in a soft jazz lilt, created a lingering air of power and strength.

The evening brought another activity- Dances of World Peace, which I learned is an ongoing monthly activity of the Prescott Sufi Community. Building peace between individuals, these dances involve following a few fairly simple moves, and rotating among partners-without regard to gender or age. The point is acknowledging each person’s presence and spirituality. That draws people out of pre-conceived notions and out of their comfort zones. Yet, as I think of it, that which takes me out of my own comfort zone, has the effect of expanding that zone.

The mandala was prescient. It had me draw opposites together, which is really the point of world unity. The past several days, most recently this morning, I have been contacted by social media friends from countries I’ve never visited, and which have not been on my immediate radar. The Universe is telling me, a few years in advance, to get ready to expand my world, and comfort zone, even further.

The words that came to me, to write on the mandala: “Night is the frontier we cross. Daylight waits beyond the gate of trial.”